Vehicles may include heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) controls disposed in an HVAC panel or similar housing which may be positioned on the interior of the roof of the vehicle. Specifically, the HVAC panel holding the HVAC controls may be positioned in a receptacle disposed in the headliner of the vehicle. The receptacle obscures the mechanical and electrical connections of the HVAC controls while allowing a user to access the various control levers and/or buttons which operate the HVAC system from the interior of the vehicle. The HVAC panel may be retained in the receptacle using clips or similar fastening mechanisms. The clips which retain the HVAC panel in the receptacle are often disposed on the interior of the receptacle so that the clips are not visible from the interior of the vehicle thereby improving the aesthetic appearance of the HVAC panel, HVAC controls and the receptacle.
In the event that the HVAC controls must be repaired or replaced, the HVAC controls must first be removed from the receptacle. Because the clips retaining the HVAC panel in the receptacle are located on the interior of the receptacle, the HVAC panel may only be released from the receptacle by accessing the rear of the receptacle and using a tool to release the clips from the HVAC panel. To gain access to the rear of the receptacle, a portion of the headliner must be detached from the roof of the vehicle. However, even with a portion of the headliner detached from the roof of the vehicle, there is very little clearance between the roof of the vehicle and the headliner which makes maneuvering the tool used to release the clips difficult and time consuming. The added difficulty in removing the HVAC panel during repair or replacement of the HVAC controls may add to the cost of servicing the vehicle.
Accordingly, a need exists for alternative receptacles for retaining vehicle HVAC controls in the headliner of the vehicle.